The Devil's Seal
by Ellered
Summary: Sparda x Eva sort of..... The Devil Knight's encounter. Gift fic for Laryna finally. Placing it on M rating to be safe, as the following chapters will be violent. OC included.
1. Chapter 1

**Category:** Devil May Cry, Capcom owns it.

**Pairing**: Not really a pairing as they aren't together but...Eva x Sparda.

**Rating:** M for violence and strong imagery

**Genre:** Drama/Horror/Mythical.

A/N – I suppose this is AU, since Sparda sealed the demon world 2000 years ago, but this is a different take because I've wanted to write something like this_ – where_ hell _has no time, as in the bible, _and the time frame is a red herring to explain that legends are legends, and no one knows except capcom, plus how Sparda and Eva met. Wish there was a story behind Dante and Vergil's parents. Used present for fight scene. An OC, named after an historical demon, is mine. I just took the name.

_

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_

_Mustering their rage, and Heaven resembles Hell! _

_As he our darkness, cannot we his light _

_Imitate when we please? _

-- Miltons Paradise Lost

* * *

When the human world was novel, the darkness was awash with demon's blood. There was only the night but light pushed its way into that obscurity, forcing itself to be flooded. 

Supernatural things had begun to change the world and the decay crumbled from the force of the new wind from the east. The cold north father sat on his icy throne, but his finger had frozen. It broke off from his hand, the icicles cracked, and there was an avalanche of surprise.

It happened because of that damnable_ light_.

An opening created a cracked puncture, widening inch by inch, which took years, decades and through that time and space, the seeping harshness of day demanded retribution and revenge.

If blood was the only gift humans could possess, they bartered their souls with the seal of its richness of iron, salt and their flesh.

From a distance there was a mountain and from its peak, a cascading flow of scarlet and molten gold sparkled, an endowment only nature could grant.

It sounded like a flushing toilet, but it was only the rush of hot melting lava flowing down all sides of the mountain, capsizing everything with it. Nothing living could survive the temperature; it was too powerful and that power could be harnessed and taken. _By the right entity._

He came from the fires of hell, storming out with a sword in his hand that he forged with his own blood. Muscle and bone replaced his iron steel covering; he belonged to another race from below the depths of this earth he now stepped on. They would have called him a god, but at the present, his breed were cast away, pushed back and sealed.

The Chinese whispers floated precariously in the wind, carrying tales of that which happened eons ago.

When the long enduring eclipse covered the earth the moon had encased the sun for so long that it prevented the process of life.

This black out caused humanity to bow down to their fears, allowing the hand of darkness to decree over their souls as there was no need to hope. Dreams were only for the weak.

Another era, another place, before he woke up to the hand of righteousness, before his eyes were pulled away from the swathe of obscurity, he would have approved of his devil kin to rule over humanity. The universe held many secrets and those secrets devils took away from the world. Earth had been a piece of that heaven they could never get back to, their place to reap the benefits of each human's inner fear and their never ending sins.

He would have just sat back and watched his comrades take a person's soul and eat it with a greedy swallow. The devil knight blocked away the cries and the pain; turn his back on the aged and the women who were screaming for help. _What did they want?_ He didn't even give himself the opportunity to think. Thinking was an annoying trait, especially for humans who spent most of their time thinking when they should have been doing something. Then there were humans who acted without any thought.

Those humans were brave, or so they would have been if there had been someone to commemorate their loss. The icy stare of the Devil Knight pierced their souls, sent them back stumbling with fear. They had screamed that the devil had no light in his eyes and there was only blood – rich and powerfully strong with a pulsating heart beat that defied their accusations and pumped with a life of its own.

The devil's eyes trailed after them, before his kind had taken over the entire world and raped the land of any innocence. He had seen them begging for mercy, watched them burn alive, and all he could do was stare out into the emptiness of their eyes.

He liked to stand high above the city, to watch the flames burn brightly, encasing the darkness in a terrible smell, black ash floating above to cover nostrils, scenting their initiation of identification through branding.

And sometimes he liked to swagger among the broken streets, watching with apathy the chaos ensuing and the demons feasting. Everything the humans had worked for, their buildings, their homes, all destroyed in a blink of an eye. _And why not?_ They didn't deserve it. They all hated each other didn't they?

In the fiery glow of flesh being burned alive, many of the humans were taken to servitude, giving up their souls easily. Why fight they thought openly, why bother? Some hadn't even given it a second thought and fell before their masters, giving away any information that harbored any rebellion against demons. It was no use really. Humans were too weak. Even with their numbers, they were delicious prey for the larger and more powerful demons.

Hope disappeared from their eyes.

A fallen tear caught his eye. A bony child hid trembling; his dark eyes were sunken in, but he didn't scream or beg. The devil knight watched with curiosity as the child's dirty face, sunken in with the onslaught of malnourishment and lack of care, shed silver salty liquid from its eyes.

_What's this? Has he lost his mother?_ Waifs were always the best food for demons. These abandoned children were easily manipulated and the best to raise for demons. That's if they were chosen to _use _them. If not, there was always more blood to shed. _And more bones to break, however frail or tough they were. _The next best ones to feed on were the braver, stupider humans who took it upon themselves to fight back. It didn't take long really.

He gripped his sword, turning to the skinny child, showing himself fully to the small human and instead of fear he saw nothing in the eyes.

It took him by surprise. Tears were always an indication of passion and emotion. _But this child_…..

Raising his sword he viciously stabbed at a reptilian demon who had pounced on them, its focus on the child.

"This one's mine!" The knight growled, red eyes flashed dangerously.

The lesser demon snapped its tail, hitting the knight as repercussion for the stab in the gut. Sharp fangs glittered with wet saliva as its tongue whipped out to its opponent, hissing out a warning,

"Its not yoursssss alone to take unlessssss Mundussss says its yoursssss. Everything issss ourssssss for the taking and you cannot claim it."

"I'll be the judge of that."

The cold reply and another stab with the blood sword sent the lizard demon disintegrating in a pile of ash.

The frail child looked at the mess, the skinny arms of the waif hung limply by its side. The knight ground his sharp fangs, could not for the life of him understand why these humans kept producing children, for are they not the bane of the world? They grow up and learn to kill, learn to _hate_…..

And feed the devils of his kind with that emotion.

A projectile struck at his arm, _SHUUSSSK_, as he tried to reach down to the child, piercing through his armored plating.

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF HIM, DEMON!"

A human. _A woman._

Slowly, he turned half way to get a look at her, fully expecting another assault, half grinned at the opportunity to be challenged by one of those 'brave' humans. This one – a woman, and _no doubt a woman who had ties to the child,_ the thought itself made his blood thump loudly in his ears. A challenge like this only comes so fleetingly. How much is she willing to _die for?_

Getting a full view of her, she was encased in the half shadows, a part of her long hair reminded him of the molten lava which the temperature was the hottest, but it was her eyes – blazing with furious revenge that got his attention. He didn't bother looking at the rest of her attire. Human clothing was only useful to hide things, keep their vanity or avoid the elements.

Cities were being burned alive, screams behind her were ignored, and the woman came with a vengeance and………..weapons.

He disregarded them as they would be no use, but he'd like to see what she's made of.

Lifting up a finger, sharp talons spiked up to urge her forward and he laughed deeply.

He had watched women get raped, skewered alive, their bodies thrown to the dogs and their cries unheard of again, but this one, this one dared to challenge him. There was fire in her eyes, full of shocking _soul_ that that was what made him laugh.

_For the very first time. _

"Ladies first." He murmured beneath his devils mask.

"Fine, asshole!"

She came at him with a kick, flying through the air, first with her arrow piercing through him again and another – coming out of the contraption she held in her hand and he moved as easily, avoiding the next sharp blows. He chuckled darkly, moving away from the kick, just missing by centimeters, watching from the corner of his eye the swift movement of her booted foot, and then another hit him squarely in the face.

He staggered back a little, but it didn't hurt, however it amused him further, giving him time to raise his sword and take a swing at her, not giving it his all.

She avoided that easily, but she grinned at him, her white teeth shined in the semi-dark, the background of flames only illuminated certain areas, causing the shadows to lengthen into their midst.

"I like the rage in you, woman!" he taunted. "Come on, you can do better than that. The fire in your eyes isn't there for nothing."

"Oh I'll do more than that," she said, pushing away from his striking blow with a quick backward jump. "I'm giving you a gift!"

Just before it registered in his mind what she meant, she rushed forward with speed, her hand shoved into his chest – a very powerful magical seal had been placed.

Choking with shock, his eyes glowed brightly, and the memories flooded him, pushing at his mind and tearing it apart – surgeon scissors nipped and cut at his membranes, blood vessels snapped inside, and he howled out a terrible cry.

The Devil Knight fell on his knees before the human woman.

"Got something to say before you're sent back to hell, demon?" she grated out with fury, her hand on his horned head and a large gun placed at his forehead.

His mind was racing, tearing apart bit by bit of all the pain of his past, of the ties he had with his Devil King and the murder beneath his blade by his own hand.

"No." She whispered cruelly. Her porcelain face now in view as the fires burned brightly from an exploding building lit by mixed fuel and malicious hands, giving him a picture perfect of exactly what he was dealing with – frail, looking utterly prevailing because she had managed to get him with his own blood seal. A powerful tactic that he wasn't even privy to understand how she – a mere human could attain this…..

She continued, "I didn't think so. No last words for you then. K, no thanks for coming."

And she pulled the trigger.

The next thing he knew, he was sent spiraling back into time and space. The devil knight was held in a grip hold that couldn't be explained and now as he lay there in the wake of his failure_, his first one_, the moment came to see that he was back in hell.

He let out a deep howl, which echoed the entire chamber hall of animated horror – chains of dead humans hung on the walls and decorated the ceilings, skeletons stared out to him with empty sockets and the blood red floors vibrated with flowing rich demon blood.

Fisting his hands, he snarled, "If it's the last thing I do…..I'll get that woman."

He shook, his body vibrated with renewed energy, but as he stood from his fall, he gripped his head in his hands as the devil seal on his chest pulsated and pushed him back. And with the seal came her own blood……

With her blood, the devil Knight could feel everything that she was.

Everything she represented.

And he wanted her more than anything he'd ever wanted in his entire existence.

Making his way back to the portal between his world and the other, he ignored the cries around him, the howling agony of sinners who were boiling in melting oil, and the souls who were hung in spiked chains from dead trees that poked at their ashen flesh. Taking each step on the spiraling stairway to the human world, he could only feel the way her memories poked at him – the feel of her skin and the gentle voice as she now held the child in her arms, protecting them from evil…..

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

_Seduce them to our party, that their God  
May prove their foe, and with repenting hand  
- Paradise lost _

_

* * *

_

For so long she avoided the dark. She would have been called a naive, because she was deep down once upon a time. She helped people out of the decency of her heart, without payment, without a hidden agenda. _Really, _she scoffed silently, it sounded as if she were some kind of Mary Poppins with a yellow smiley printed on a black umbrella. Most people found her innocence and guile so sweet and easily taken advantage of.

_Fuckers._

Most people were like that. They often went to the side of the most powerful, the most popular, the ones with clout. They would often laugh, and told her while deep in their drink, or in a candid response to her thoughts: _Why side to the weak, stupid humans who couldn't even help themselves? Who fell into deep depression and cried often?  
_  
Many of them carried with them the 'power' of confidence, giving them the power of sense. At least at the time they did.  
She had a look about her that screamed 'classic beauty', and her gender either hated her or admired her. There was something about being born naturally beautiful that sent the less than gifted in that area spitting mad. The young woman smirked at those revelations, and thought: _shouldn't they realize by now that everyone has problems? That envy only brought on destruction? _

But it didn't matter.

None of that did anymore. Beauty only came in the name of Power. In the changing tides of a new world, an eventful place would mark it's way into the book of legends and her once adolescent eyes opened to the horrors of her own race. They willingly opened up the portal to another world.

And revulsion so perversely attractive and divinely grotesque to humans unleashed onto the world, and offered their blood as it decorated the earth. Nothing on this mortal terrain could bring back what was spilled once Pandora's Box gave its secret away.

They wanted power; they got it in the form of darkness.

What she saw first hand, as a hoard of vampires swooped down and stole children from their mother's breast, and how an army of men tried to blockade a stampede of horned demons with hooves, that she felt her eyes burn with scalding salt on an open wound. It was a massacre. Humans didn't even stand a chance and if thousands of armies couldn't stop them, what could?

Her tears and silent screams had stopped flowing out long ago, and try as she might, to shut herself up from all that. What good were tears? _Yes, yes, cry cry cry and then die? Go ahead, Eva, go and kneel before them and give your body to them if all you can do is cry! _She seethed with relentless fury inside; a stranglehold of icy hot vengeance swam through her. It was time to settle the score and she had to think fast. What good would it do to turn a blind eye? Instead, with a shaky hand she lifted one of the weapons a mangled soldier dropped.

Not this._ Not this,_ she calmly told herself with a passionate litany, this won't do at all.

They were all dead. _Dead. _She was becoming desensitized to this.

Right now, she was just able to cover herself - hiding like some thief in the night. There were still a thousand or more humans hiding, but it wont take them long to be subjugated, and used for demon fodder, food or servitude. With her, she knew exactly what they'd do to her. She has seen the way they took women, more than raped and tortured them – they held their babies and cut them into little pieces while the mothers watched, their screams raged into the night, so terrifying that they begged to die!

Eva's eyes, shining bright with unshed tears had witnessed all this and her heart constricted with a powerful kind of ache.  
Now, as she hid herself with a weak child who held on to her for dear life, she sent a few more demons back to hell.

Taking care of the most powerful one was her first priority.

The recollection of her first vision of him etched severely in her mind: Great black curved horns, scarlet glowing eyes beneath his devils mask, and smoke furling from beneath his armored plating. Everything he did, from his walk to his killings, he did with an air of grandiose pride. He was so cocky, walking like an overconfident god among the destruction that she had to keep her breathing in check from the livid desire to rush at him with such obviously weak weapons.

What she did notice was how he approached his kills.

She had to observe him, find his weakness, and try as might to survey him without him knowing.

Eva had little time enough as it is…..and time really was running out for her.

Thundering sounds overhead were ignored as the remaining populace hid in every corner they could find. Guttural cries and screams were short lived as a talon slashed another prey, ripping flesh away from their victim's human bones.

_People were really stupid, _Eva thought with disdain – watching them all flock to nearby city churches and finding to their horror that it was a trap. They kept going anyway, one by one till finally, there was nothing more to pray. She had tried to stop some of them along the way, to help them but they were all so blind. Most of them paid no mind to her as they were too busy running, scrambling over themselves and dead bodies. And the ones who did, clung to her –seeing Eva in a healthier state than their own. She was one of the few with all her limbs intact, with splotches of blood on her clothing _and_ she had weapons.

Some had even tried to steal them away from her but a hit to the head with a two by four helped stop a couple of them.

Where were all the demons? People were running everywhere, the screams and terror in the night was deafening but the demons…? She looked down the street and saw a terrible thing.

Cloaked shadowy figures vanishing in and out of air slashed away at humans, tearing into their bodies with apparent amusement. Even their laughs could be seen; it came out in the form of black smoke and their weapons – large scythes and the use of magic came down on their victims that were either in the way or getting away. Beside them, other demonic energies came out from under, materializing with large mouths, their fangs and jaws served to gobble up humans and right into their large abdomens. The human would be eaten alive – she saw with horror the way the hands and arms had moved inside, making an indentation on the demons hairy protruding stomach, as they were trying to get out.

And then finally the large crunching sound of bone came; all movement stopped.

The little boy held on to her, frightened now, his eyes were wide with some kind of shock, and there was not a sound from such a frail thing. She brushed the dirty hair back, kissed his temple, where smudges of dirt splattered. There was dried blood on the bottom of his nose and scratches on his face.

Eva had to get out of there. She had taken out the worst of the lot but the rest of these demons were still running around, and worse, they had nothing to hold them back. The one she sent back had seemed to have the authority to send certain species to other areas, where they were needed and some had been stopped from killing people so that those victims had become their slaves.

But would anyone want to be enslaved? To many, _it was better than death._

There was a chapel she remembered but it was a long way from here, and if lucky enough there would be a vehicle to steal. One that isn't either burned to pieces, overturned or just plain unusable. There were fires flickering out from every building, some of these had been burnt to the ground with ashes and smoky debris everywhere – it was the only sign of light. If the fires were out, there would be complete darkness.

Glancing up at the sky, black clouds of smoke made the visibility very hazy and she had to think fast. Bodies were on the ground were also burnt, the stench from the scarred flesh and blood made breathing very difficult. The smell nearly choked them, and as the boy coughed, Eva placed a cloth over his nose – one of her signature handkerchiefs. This she kept as part of her family heirloom, the engraving of the letter _'E' _in gothic style handwriting was positioned on the corner.

It had a pleasant scent, overwhelming and powerful. Eva had placed not perfume on it, but ingredients of what contained in pomander balls which used to ward off evil, diseases and plagues. If people believed it then it would come true. If not, the scent alone would drive off other unpleasant smells. That was enough.

"Breathe deeply into this." She gently said to him and carried his frail body over her hip, her arm held him close to her. The extra burden made her steps slower and other people were moving past her.

_Shit!_ She seethed with fury, her teeth clenched; her blue eyes scanned the vehicles, anything! Then she saw something – a motorbike. It wasn't in good condition, and frankly she didn't know if it would work but the fenders were smashed and the headlights were broken.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: sorry for taking long, Laryna6. Here you go. And to anyone else interested.

XXX

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-I-

Eva went completely against her instincts. Instead of taking the motorbike, she allowed the person who shoved her aside to go ahead and steal it.

The blonde watched momentarily as the man tried to start the engine. He attempted twice by shoving his foot on the starter peddle to pump vigorously. It was an older model. Luckily for him, it started.

He sped easily down the road, avoiding other people who had stumbled along his way. Some were crying for help. She even watched one last time as the rider was pulled out of the bike by several hands; they grabbed on to his jacket, and he fell on the ground painfully.

The motorbike was now skidding solo as the pursuers tried to catch it. It fell on its side with a loud skidding screech as sparks flew from the grinding of metal and asphalt.

She grabbed the boy to her side, holding him tight and hurriedly went on. The streets started to soak a crimson color; they were paved with the carcasses of victims left there hours ago.

She choked on the smoke and was glad that the handkerchief could at least hold the boy from fainting dead away just from that intense smell. Feeling completely dizzy, she pushed on with an uneasy gait and rushed into an alley. Hoping to find refuge in the darkness, Eva saw a dark creature coming towards them.

Whatever it was – she kicked it, sending it back against the alley walls. No questions asked. You died if you stood there and gaped. Without a backward glance, her and her small companion took off down the café. The place was practically ransacked. Windows were broken and shards were everywhere, on the floor, on the booths but she ignored that as she spotted a display of donuts.

She looked down at the boy. "Are you hungry?"

He was barely moving, his lips parted slightly and the eyes were sunk so deep, she had to pause. Her shoes crunched over the glass pieces, maneuvering her way towards the counter. The noise from outside started to die down.

Taking the plastic top off, she reached for the chocolate donuts and offered them to the boy. He could barely sit as she tried to hold on there on the stool. He hesitated at first, but his ferocious appetite got the best of him. The emptiness of his belly had longed for anything to sustain him.

With smeared chocolate around his lips, he was oblivious to everything now….all he cared about was the food. There were more donuts. Eva took him to the booth, pushed aside the small remnants of glass there and placed him against the seat.

"Stay there. Here, there's more. I'm just going to get something for us to drink."

She walked hurriedly behind the counter. Checking every soda fountain to see if they worked, she found them to be so. Taking the glass from the shelves, she poured them both a glass of soda. As the fizz started to bubble over, the human screams had faded. Her ears pricked at the silence.

Turning slowly, the hairs on her skin stood on end.

She could feel them. They were here. They came with the shadows and solidified around the boy.

These demons were skeletal; they held the boy around their bony arms and their soulless eyes, which had spots of bright red in the sockets – stared at her, as if they could read her soul.

"Get your hands off him."

She uttered the words with deadly intimidation, as if she was the one with power.

The voices – no! They weren't voices, not human…..they spoke to her. They were filled with rage and it hurt her ears.

_"Human. We're not here to kill you." _

They spoke in unison. Eva moved her hand slowly to the metal bar beneath the counter.

"Your words never speak the truth!" and with impulse, she had already reached for her weapon and shot directly at the skeletal demon next to the boy. It went right through him as the sound of the blast went off.

_"Useless weapons, those are, not even fit for demon kind."_ The demon hissed_. "We're not here to convince you of our truths. We're here because you took away the devil king's knight." _

"That's right, mother fucker! I killed him!" She gritted her teeth and was all about to rush at them but their weapons materialized and cut her. She stumbled forward; blood spurted out of her mouth. Pain shot all around her muscles and shoulders. Looking down, the wounds deepened as solid sharp knives had cut into her stomach. Her hands had instinctively reached for her abdomen; they were covered in her blood. Her eyes blurred for a moment and her illogic actions shamed her to the core as she stared at the boy – who stared right back with fear.

_"Foolish woman. This is just a taste of what you can feel. Do you like that? Do you like how your body is now folding because you're weak? Do you enjoy the way your muscles are tightening? The rush when your brain gives off messages to parts of your body, trying to find a way to survive?" _

As blood trickled out of her mouth, Eva's moist eyes were filled with fury. Her hand shook as it protectively tried to hold on to her abdomen; the crimson liquid soaked her shirt through.

She spat out. "You talk too much for a piece of shit."

They laughed; a deep shuddering laugh that came not from their bodies but around them, encasing the atmosphere with darkness and fear.

_"We can cure you if you want. We came because you are the only one who could seal the Knight. He will come back from the depths of our hell and guess where he'll be looking for next?" _

"Let me guess…" She choked out. "He wants to find me, thank me for releasing him from this world and ask me to marry him."

The sarcasm was supposed to make some kind of bitter joke, but they didn't find it funny. She thought that demons didn't really have a sense of humor anyway.

_"There is a mutiny among our kind; the devil king trusts his knight, but we do not…." _

She couldn't believe it! They were asking for her help! The irony of it made her want to cry and laugh; she was going to tell them to go to hell anyway.

One of them reached for her; the skeletal fingers touched the bright strands. They filtered through the bones and the demon materialized into a man's visage: broad shouldered, brown haired and dark eyes, with at least a day's growth of beard.

He reached over to bring his hand behind her hair. Then gripped them hard, making her wince. She was dying………

Bringing her face up to his, she could smell the foulness of his breath – sulfur and ash that gagged her.

_"Woman. It is up to you. This boy's life and yours for bringing the Knight to us." _

Tears were now flowing down, wetting her cheeks. "Why do you want me to help you, filthy scum!"

"Defiant as ever, _Evasca De Angelo_."

_"There is a war between our breed; we want to make sure it will end by your hand." _

Her eyes darted over to the boy, and accessing her dire predicament, she would be foolish if she didn't say yes. Didn't these dogs know that she took on that Demon Knight because she knew about blood and seals?

If she could do it, why couldn't they?

As if they read her thoughts, they spoke in unison again, telling her that only a human would prefigure the demise of the traitor.

Her eyes glazed over.

She was losing so much blood, losing so much concentration that the world started to blur around her.

She didn't even know if she had said yes…..

In the fires of hell, the demon knight left burnt marks, his hooves embossed on the ground beneath him. With it, the fires flickered from the imprint. His senses had steadily returned to normalcy; the red glow from beneath his demon mask enlarged.

Stepping on the eyelid of the portal, his body shimmered – sending millions and millions of particles into the sun, past the moon, and through orbits of inner space, only to land in front of his destination - he was back to the human world.

Inhaling the smell of fear around him, a soft growl escaped his lips.

Just one thought entered his mind: killing her would be just too easy.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I wrote these out earlier,so I might as well post it now.

IV.

* * *

When her eyes opened, she was greeted with the glaring white sun, obscured by an overcast that was worse than the intensity of direct sunlight. As she got up, she felt her body renewed, awake and healed. Looking around, the city had been washed over by the horrors of the night. The yawning emptiness greeted her. Then she panicked. Where was the boy? 

She could have sworn she said yes. They didn't really give her any choice. The thought that they kept him as collateral pained her heart. Eva felt her human emotions spill over her as she realized for the first time in so long that the sun had come home to earth. What could this mean? And why?

Had she become so suspicious that even the greeting sun was a trick? Devils could never keep their promises. But she wasn't going to start counting off why they were despicable. Right now, she had to get back to her family estate.

_Where was everyone? Have they all died? _

No time to cry, Eva, she told herself. Get a grip of yourself and start moving. Get home. She had detached herself from the emotions, because she had seen her family killed in front of her eyes. And she couldn't do anything about it. That's the worst part. How does a person go on with their lives knowing that they could never rival their enemies? You either joined the side in which you yourself have fought against for so long, or fight them until your ancestors welcome you home.

She needed his blood. If he was as powerful as the demons said he was, he would not be held back by a mere seal that she had hodge-podged together with the little blood she was able to take. Closing her eyes, the futility of it was disappointing, because she would always find him back.

Walking towards the way to her home, it would be a long walk, but she kept on. The grumbling of her stomach told her that she needed to eat. Instead, she ignored it. There wasn't any time to eat. Her hair was caked with dry blood, and because they lay in a heavy heap down her back, they clumped together and darkened her hair.

The bodies that she had seen on the streets were taken away. As if by a hand they were lifted up and taken away, or if any indication of what she had seen earlier – they were eaten. The smoke had cleared and the sun had paved a path for her to go forward. Who were those demons? Something told her that they were responsible for this.

Passing by stores and empty buildings, they appeared dilapidated; in an eerie way, they reminded her of horror movies where only heroines were dumped coincidently in. Just the thought of that made her laugh. She's no heroine, but the only reason why she was 'chosen' was due to her previous actions with the devil knight. _What was she to do?_ It's not like she was going to sit around and die. As she turned the corner, there was a figure by a doorway that moved. This alerted her and because she was defenseless, all she could do was look for a weapon. There were so many things on the street that she could find.

The shadowy figure stepped into the light; he was the demon who spoke to her of her reluctant concordat.

"Miss De Angelo." His voice was alarmingly smooth and soothing to the ears, when it wasn't merged with the other demons. Almost human.

"Where is the boy?" She picked up a piece of brick. He just glanced over to her meager weapon and chuckled darkly. He was trying to charm her through his visage, she could feel it – his dark eyes sparkled menacingly, and the perfect line of his lips curled slightly. But she remembered the stamp of his foul breath, the touch of his bony fingers and the aura of his evil.

"You think you can hold me off with that, woman? When will you ever learn?"

"I'm not having this conversation with you. Where is he?" She repeated the question firmly.

"You can have him back when you're done with our agreement. I'm here because I think you need some guidance. You can't take on the Devil Prince's favourite Knight."

She said nothing but stared.

"You look rather dirty. Like a dirty blonde waif." He eyed her up and down, and she could see the bit of disgust there. But Eva was amused: _What the hell did this hellspawn think? That she was able to get a shower and pop into her favourite dress, splash on some perfume, after a night of horror? _

As if reading her thoughts, the dark eyes flew to hers. "Yes, I suppose you're right."

"Get the hell out of my mind, asshole."

"You've got quite a low vocabulary for someone of your breeding, even for a human, Eva. Where are your manners?"

She threw the brick. It crashed against his chest; this only made him pause and didn't do any good. The morphed demon got back to his former position after dusting himself off.

Already, her hand was on another weapon, and this time she found a metal pipe just a ways.

"Quite the bitch aren't you, Eva? I don't think your 'little boy' would appreciate your ill manners. Here, I give you back your life, save you from sure death and what do I get in repayment?"

The pipe she held in her hand swung. He ducked away from it effortlessly, and the pipe hit the doorway. It created a crack into the cement, sending rubble on the ground.

He reached for her neck, pushed her body back against the concrete wall, held her there until she was gasping. His face was close to hers. "I like your spirit, girl, but I suggest you keep that wild spirit of yours tamed till you meet your knight again."

She kicked him in the groin. He flinched, not because he felt anything there but because she dared.

He squeezed a little harder on her neck and her hands desperately tried to claw away at the strength of her attacker.

After a moment, he released her, and she coughed, holding on to her throat. Bending over, Eva tried to regain her strength. She could feel her face whiten, but blood pumped back into her, returning her back to normalcy. As he stood over her, his darting dark eyes watched her and she could feel they were laughing at her.

"You need to be cleaned up. Wouldn't want _your Knight_ _in dark bloody armour_ to see you disgusting and smelling like a cheap tramp now would you?"

His words were like acid on her skin and she would have hurled a thousand blasphemies at him, but sense common sense told her to postpone those words. Instead she challenged him.

"It must be quite the mockery for you to ask a mere contemptible human tramp to assist you with taking out one of your kind. Rather pathetic don't you think?"

Ignoring the bait, he took her arm and pushed her inside the building. Stumbling, Eva adjusted her eyes to the shadows of the interior.

He pushed her further. She fell on her face, her hands in front of her as the floor greeted her. Grunting, she turned around, gritted her teeth and rolled over as he tried to hold her there with his booted foot.

"I have something for you, Eva."

His words were back to that soothing human tone. It felt like a caress on her skin. This amazed her. How could demons be so charming and so nasty just by a flick of a switch? This would have caused even a weaker human to fall for him, to give their souls as easily as it were a piece of something to barter for. She knew with inherent knowledge that demons like him, and perhaps that ugly great beast who he called the 'devil knight' could lure humans to their end. _Without even trying_. Cautiously, she crawled hurriedly against a wall, and as her back felt solid foundation, her eyes darted to and fro in the semi-darkness. He approached her and kneeled down in front of her.

"These are what we use in the demon world."

He produced before her, a strange looking weapon that perhaps human eyes have neverseen before. As he watched her eyes widen, the corner of his lip lifted.

"I'm no hunter, demon. What do you think I am?"

"I know you're not...but you're a defender of your race, aren't you, woman?" He waited for her response and when he got none, he continued in that smooth drawl.

"The energy of this weapon contains the energy from our kind. It assists in neutralizing a demon's powers for a short time. You will do well to use it against any demon, even the ones in which are of higher power."

It was huge. It looked like a gun, but it was more of a bow and arrow type of contraption. Perhaps more like a crossbow, except one could hold it as a gun, equipped with a trigger mechanism and shot gun reloading device.

"And these…" He eyed her as his voice caressed her, "...are orbs you will need in the future, to keep you alive, my sweet Eva. I only have a few so use them wisely."

His palm held blue orbs; they glistened in the semi-dark.

He reached to her hair and she slapped his hand away. He clucked his tongue at her. "If I were about to rape you, you'd know it. The higher levels of our kind are above that sort of thing. Rape is all about humiliation and dishonor and trust me, that's not my intent for you, besides, those are for the lower animals. Higher level demons don't bother and are above all that."

"I wasn't thinking that." She spat at him.

"Oh yes you were. All women think of it – it's a great hidden fear in them and for some, it's a fantasy. Until they realize too late that that fantasy is a nightmare." Then he waved his hand smoothly. "Can you imagine, Eva? That there are women who love nightmares?"

Her face screwed up at that, disgusted at the thought. He leaned in, and she turned her head. Again, his seductive voice whispered close to her face. "You're different, and you know exactly why…….." Then his face hardened. "Righteous bitch."

In another part of the world, a devil knight had touched the earthen floor with his hooves, and the grass beneath him died.

There was with every step, a warning that death comes in the form of a great beast. And as his body felt the touch of the sun, the ultraviolet rays stung the skin, as if the hairs on his hardened layers of flesh pulled and were extracted viciously. They felt like splashes of holy water. He growled his discontent as the smoke furled up from his exterior.

He looked up at the sky and howled like a lone wolf to the moon. His arms were spread out and the fist in his one hand held a large sword. Outstretched, his arms appeared to embrace everything before him. But his cry was thunderous.

The roaring sound of thunder was heard. The demon before Eva turned as it reached their ears. Eva's eyes widened. She was taking quick intakes of air, her chest rose and fell. She smiled. "Friend of yours?"

"He's here." The dark eyes darted to another room in the shadowy interior. "There's a shower there. Get yourself cleaned up or I'll do it for you." The threat was evident as an intimidating leer touched his face.

"And seduce your knight to his end, Evasca De Angelo."

She watched as the demon shimmered out of her sight. She wasted not a moment as she scooped up the weapons he left for her. There were also a couple of man made grenades and magazines for her gun. The blue orbs were dumped ceremoniously into her pocket. She wasn't about to take a shower either. What did it matter if she stunk like a stuck pig and looked like a pathetic match-girl in the middle of winter?

It was her undoing, the way she never followed orders. Especially from a demon.


	5. Chapter 5

V.

_Deliverance_

* * *

As she tried to stumble out of there, her hand automatically covered her eyes to ward away the harsh glare of the sun. But she was met with a solid chest. Falling back against the concrete, the demon had returned. 

"Get cleaned up. I told you I'd do it for you if you didn't." He bit out with a bitter command.

She was fighting him with all her strength, her fists banged against his chest as he held her tight against him, and pushed her back into the interior. "Get inside, you little human tramp."

He ripped off the clothes from her back and she screamed. With that she turned to give him a kick but he stopped the action with his hand. He gripped her ankle and twisted it enough to make her cry out.

"Don't worry, darling," He leered. "I don't care for the inanity of animalistic behaviors."

He was telling her that he didn't care if she stood naked before him. Human nudity didn't do anything for the likes of him. She didn't care either if she was stripped, but her consciousness brought her to feel the sting of her utter vulnerability – her nakedness revealed her human limitation.

She had fallen on the ground with a cry; she really hated feeling like a weak vessel. If only….if only she could equal her enemies. Eva knew that he was toying with her. He would have killed her last night. So why couldn't she compromise with him? Every human instinct told her not to. It shamed her beyond all reason to work with a demon. Many humans would have been begging at his feet; kissing his once skeletal hands and praising him with all their dark soul. They would have done it out of fear. _So where was her fear? Had she lost them because she was so blind with hate? _

Tears fell from her eyes, but not because she was hurt; she was weak, and knew it. That reality brought her back to her utter shame. She would fail the little boy, and anyone else she loved in the future – _if she even had one_.

"Since you're not going to listen to me, I'll do it for you. We don't have much time." He growled, pulled her up harshly and they entered the room with the bathtub. It was dirty and she scowled at it. The water came down firstly as brown colored, then yellow, and then cleared. He grinned at her. "Don't be so virtuous, Eva, lots of people in poor countries bathe in dirty rivers daily. You shouldn't be ashamed to be in the same fate. You've been spoiled all your life, haven't you?"

"I don't care about that. I just hate your filthy demon hands on me, foul monster."

He pushed her down in the water. She hated being bullied, and with a sudden angry rush, Eva clawed at him.

"You're going to be a handful for Sparda, Evasca. But I'm warning you now…..he likes them gentle." He sneered. Her wrists were held in a vise grip and her body was lifted up and dumped into the half filled tub. She was disgusted at the light brown dirty water, but even more disgusted at his power over her.

He left her there with a bar of white soap, a white towel, and a bottle of shampoo. She didn't even know how long he stood there watching her scrub herself, but she didn't want to look at him.

When she turned around, he was gone. Her tears stung the back of her eyes. She would have loved to sob into her soapy hands, but instead placed them in the dirty water and continued to scrub herself clean. She did it so harshly that her skin started to redden.

As she finished, she saw clean clothes set on a table. With it, a red mantle she recognized. Eva's eyes hardened. The demon took her clothes from her home! What else had he done? When she reached them and picked them up, something fell to the ground.

_Her amulet stared back at her. _

_X. _

The Devil Knight idly observed the landscape; the night had turned into day while he was away. And where were his armies? A strong wind blew in the direction towards the west. He uttered words in an ancient devils language. They were instantly heard through an extrasensory link as thus his strength and power commands. One of the demons he recognized shimmered right beside him.

A smooth familiar human male voice responded the knight's command. "Your armies have taken all the humans and brought them to our world. Safely secured in the bowls of several levels. There are hardly any humans left, except for a few that appear to be 'protected.' No matter." He silkily replied, "In due time, their protection shall be abolished."

"Tobias Asmodei." The Knight acknowledged his rival by calling out his full name. "Who has done this change in the atmosphere?" The accusation sure in the depths of his demonic eyes. "You?"

"Why….your human woman….of course." The rejoinder was meant to astonish the Knight.

Tobias Asmodei next to him chuckled darkly at the result he saw on Sparda's expression. This pleased him, but was cut short as a large clawed hand reached up and enclosed around the head of his human visage; stunned bright red eyes, although appearing human glowed through the strength of those claws.

The Devil Knight lifted up Asmodei in the air with one swift movement.

"What is the woman to me? What is her status?" He growled quietly at Asmodei. The demon he held in his clawed hand struggled for a moment then switched his human body for his original: a skeletal figure was in its place. The eye sockets kept the red glow of demons eyes.

With the modification, the Knight snarled an animalistic response and threw the boney remains into the ground. The sound of bones crumpled and cracked from the force, but immediately healed itself with an arcane hidden power it possessed.

Tobias Asmodei's skeletal body lifted up from the ground; its dark eye sockets tried to appear sinister to his rival, giving indication that it was in no way afraid of the Dark Prince's favourite Knight.

"She waits for you, Sparda. Not far from here. I've prepared her for you." The skeleton smiled and again, materialized back to his human form.

His impatient contender growled back. "That's not the answer I want." The dexterious hand gripped his sword while his other made a fist, enclosing the sharp talons in his large hand together in a languid movement.

Tobias glanced at Sparda's great sword.

"She's one of those. The defender of her pitiful race. If _you_ can take care her meddling ways, there will be others that will be released into our fold."

"Why not you?"

Tobias lifted his shadowed masculine jaw. The smooth human voice he possessed came out like a caress, which only made Sparda incensed. The Knight found to his disgust the human cover to be 'weak' and everything associated with it unacceptable. Why Asmodei chose to ape humans he could not understand – _not yet._

"Sparda," the demon addressed him cautiously, "She created a seal _especially for you_. That in turn makes her your prime objective."

His adversary's response satisfied him for the time being.

Sparda turned, his back to Tobias. The demon folded his arms over his human broad chest; a sparkle of mischeif in the depths of his eyes. "One more thing, Sparda..."

The devil knight's eyes shifted to the corner; he kept on walking.

"She's more than clever. You would do well to keep your guard. I suggest...using a _human_ cover?"

Sparda clamped his fangs together. He could still hear the mocking laughter from the other demon when he was gone. He would gut him when he saw fit...but first, there were things to attend to.


	6. Chapter 6

_notes: i only updated this chapter because it was for Laryna's birthday present, as promised. Sorry it's late._

_Happy belated birthday, Laryna._

* * *

**_Asmodei_**

* * *

When a human being makes a choice, it is forever stamped in a collective memory. Somewhere, an invisible god-like hand jots it down in a mystical large black book of secrets. There is no time to turn back the decision, no time to take back what was said, or what was done. Humans created their beds and pulled fake covers over their entire bodies; they had basked lazily in their decision making beds. It's easier to manipulate a human whose mind was filled with chaos and strife. It's easier to turn a person to hate others, all too easy, because they could never see their own mistakes made. In the meantime, their guilt weighs heavily until their frail bodies filled up with dark blood. 

The world was made in invisible threads of magnetic fields, imperceptible particles of bubbly wrapped oxygen, blowing out carbon dioxide only to be recycled and shared. When the world was blackened out by the absence of light, it still thrived and wanted to breathe, reaching out with empty arms to any living organism. It never caressed or loved, it only wanted to live.

Asmodei sat leisurely atop a mountain side, not obscured by any brush or cover of rocks. The devil's soldier basked in the glow of the warm dying fires and ate up the god-given atmosphere with a greedy inhalation. His arm dangled over his knee, sitting with a languorous kind of air. The black thoughts that swirled in his head were as chaotic as any bloodied war, but he bore an appearance that defied that. Strictly businesslike from another point of view; a man with a slick clean cut look, graced with sleek hair that flicked back, and attractive touches of demon created gel. Perhaps too slickened and prettily made up on purpose. At the moment, he wore a suit of a man's silk expensive thread, expensively cut and stylish. From the looks of him, there was a masculine beauty that defied everything he was made of.

Long almost feminine fingers lifted; an index and thumb touched, producing a cigarette out of thin air. With graceful movements, Asmodei placed the white stick between sensual lips; a fire flickered at the end of the thin tobacco and lighted. He puffed in an unhurried manner, enjoying the delicious taste of home grown dead leaves, inhaling it into his black spirit. Smoke hovered around his perfect head, and with a flick of his finger, the smoke disappeared. Leaning back against the hard wall of the mountain side, the scenery before him presented him with an open window of what went on.

He knew that Sparda would take the bait; inevitable as it was, a devil's pride was too important. The demon didn't even hope that all things would come to fruitation, it just wasn't in the dark bloodline or thought pattern.

A small black creature slithered its way past him; he picked it up, looked it in the eye as the creature's flickering tongue tried to reach out. A slow smirk formed on the human visage, showing perfect white teeth. "A bit late for you to be meandering around here, don't you agree?"

No reply.

"Just as I thought. Your kind was too stupid to be sold out by a woman." With that last comment, Asmodei placed the creature into his mouth; a sickening crunch could be heard as teeth clamped down to tear the skin apart. Blood and flesh parted - a loud deliberate chewing and a swallow followed.

Closing sultry eyes surrounded by thick lashes, Asmodei blocked out the world as he purred silently. And as if he could see without eyes, a vision of Sparda popped up. One thing was for sure: a future for the world would change drastically with Eva's death and his departure.

* * *

_**The Human Cover

* * *

**_

Sparda paused before the half fallen building, his long claws extended, only to detract within the large hand. A pair of steely blue eyes formed around his face, staring out with a snarling expression of anger. The anger soon dissipated, replaced with a calm exterior of reason. It was something that higher devil's possessed, unlike lower classes that ran on chaos and destruction. He didn't trust Asmodei, and if he was any Knight of the Underworld, Sparda knew a betrayal between their kind was what fueled them on. But the devil's soldier was right. He needed the presentation wrap of a human. In the decision that she would pose another mild threat, he didn't want to be sent back home without his permission like a whipped puppy.

There was no time to act like a mad demon with a human like that; a human who possessed a secret only someone more powerful than her conjured up. The frail female may have the power of the 'seal' that kept him reigned like a tamed wild horse. Dark smoke pushed out of his nostrils like a raged bull, the shadows around his large besital form lifted away; an acidic smell rose up into the air and hissed around the large thick horns.

He would find how she acquired that seal and snuff her life out, simple as that. But first, a deception was the first thing that a human was vulnerable to. If he showed up looking clean and unharmed like Asmodei's revolting visage, she wouldn't buy it. There was intelligence in those blue eyes she had, but it wasn't intelligence that saved her, or kept her different than other run-amuck humans. Intelligence was nothing compared to a 'fire' she harboured. And that was the strange part he would find out. Fire like that only came from a devil's spawn. Or…..the thought occurred to him and as easily as it came, it was shoved back into the deep recesses of his mind for future use.

A transformation didn't take long as the Knight stood there, willing himself to adjust to a human. The opposite of ugly is beauty to a mortal's mind, and in the mirror of his beastly visage, a renovation was taking place.

A beautiful man stood in place of beast; white ribbonous hair, carefully slicked back just like Asmodei's, crowning a perfect cranium; forehead indicated a strong intelligence and lines of white perfect brows above startling light blue eyes filled the face. Sensual lips parted below a strong almost pointed thin nose breathed in, sucking in air from the mouth. The eyes were cold as the frozen arctic, and warmed immediately as he willed their glacial stones into melting sky blues. His clothing was too clean on a masculine human body, too much like Asmodei's for the moment, but it wouldn't be long………

A lower demon passed him, pausing only to glance at Sparda's new form, mewled with a fear as the Knight grabbed him with a powerful grip.

"You're coming with me." Sparda growled with a threat. "Time to play with humans."

* * *

**_Eva_**

* * *

She wore the clean clothes that was given to her: a red velvet blouse that fitted magnificently against her figure, something for her feet and more to cover her long legs. She knew she was losing weight but didn't care. There were other clothes that were left behind and the black spawn of the underworld decided to give her options from her own wardrobe. _The fuck!_

Eva found it ironic that he should care that she wore a clean appearance; a pair of black boots, tan pants and the velvet blouse with sleeves that covered up to the elbows. Her golden amulet hung around her neck; she turned as a noise stumbled in, and with crossbow piece in her hand readied, she aimed it at the intruder.

Her eyes took in the intruder: A man, he was panting with a ragged breath, blood soaked through his shirt, almost drying he held a companion in his arms. Stumbling forward with tired blue eyes, black smudges of smoke and dirt smeared his cheek and bore several days of beard growth. What she could see so far was a human male in desperate need of help and the female in his arms looked dead and cold.

"Help, please, I need assistance." His voice was hoarse, as if he had been yelling for days, and it was convincing. Many humans screamed until they died; they ran amuck along the chaotic streets, falling from high buildings only to stop screaming. Yet more screams kept coming, day in and day out, and the nightmare kept going on in her mind.

He fell forward a little on his knees from the weight in his arms; the woman in he held was a small thing: A cold corpse, pale and grey with matted blood around the skull and her eyes stared out with a haunted look.

Eva was wary; she had to keep her guard and this man….this strange man among the hordes of dying humans in the street found his way into this building.

"If you would not help, then please keep my wife here. I don't want her body to be eaten up by them…" The man's gravelly whisper was sincere and the startling blue eyes diverted away, as if he were ashamed to look her in the eye. He had noted the pathetic contraption in her hands and almost scoffed. It would have done no good if she had fired an arrow at him, but she didn't know that.

The blonde woman looked down at him. A man on his knees grieving for a departed wife and he looked much damaged himself with blood splotches on his head; a matted dried patch of white hair stuck the side of his head, day's growth of ……white beard. She was shocked a little at this. From the looks of him, he didn't look any older than thirty, but his hair was so pure and white.

"No." She simply said. "I'm sorry. I can't take that chance." Eva kept her weapon aimed at him. "Your wife is dead now and is better off dead." Her stark words would have found an arrow to his heart, but she didn't care as she kept on with the cruelty of her words. It was necessary. "If you're for real." Pausing a bit, her eyes scanned the dead woman. "Then I'm sorry for your loss, but this entire place is filled with losses; she's at a better place now so you don't have to worry anymore. Now, get out of my building. I found it first. **Get. Your. Own**."

Eva deliberately highlighted each word, stressing it out with a deadly threat. The look of her over him made her look more powerful than him.

Sparda sneered inwardly at her distrustful nature; she's too wary and that's good for her survival, but this posed a more difficult situation for him. He almost wanted to lash out at her, take her down, seeing as she didn't have any spells or seals but paused. His eyes riveted on the amulet that hung around her neck gave him moment.

Instead of what his dangerous side wanted to do, he bowed obediently, so unlike his nature to anyone but his Devil King. He kept his teeth clamped as a nerve ticked at the side of his cheek. The anger swirled in his mind, yet the voice that came out of his sensual lips was as obedient as the action.

"As you wish. I'm very sorry." He willed a tear to form as he had seen the screaming humans, dying in each other's arms with rivers of it. But it wouldn't come. The expression on his face, however, was easy to produce; it was a genuine appearance of sorrow; a longing look of expression full of sadness and grief, almost a yearning for his own death to come.

He grunted as he tried to struggle the dead woman in his arms, and he could feel the human female's gaze on him as he pretended with every effort to bring himself out of her sight. So far so good, but it was taking all his will power to keep this damnable pretense. The amulet took him by surprise and he'd have a personal talk with Asmodei about it; maybe later or maybe he'd take care of shit himself. He hated to be in the dark about anything, especially about this woman's knowledge of seals and magical artifacts that were only kept secret among his kind and long dormant blood relations.

One thing he had over Asmodei was the will to cover his scent. If he kept this pretense up, he'd get her to give him her amulet with her own free will. Patience was another thing Sparda had if he tried and one notch up over Asmodei and legions up over others of his kind; it was usually unheard of, but then again, upper classes of his kind and the Emperor of the Underworld possessed them.

As he struggled out with a limpness and head bowed, she had watched until he disappeared outside. Eva only managed to relax when she could no longer hear his faltering footsteps. A sigh of relief crossed her delicate features. She could feel sorrow and sadness for the man's loss and perhaps she should help him, but there was no way she was taking chances. Right now, she had to find a way to get the boy back. And she wondered if the foul breathed demon had been lying about the Devil's knight coming to meet her.

She'll be prepared if that disgusting beast comes back in her presence and this time, the seal would hold him permanently. But she had to find a way to bind him to her, and that was when she knew her life would end if she did that. It sounded so cliché, with the sacrificial thing going on; a life for a life, saving the world by forfeiting oneself, however, there's always a clause for everything.

* * *

_to be continued..._

_due to the nature of the story, i didnt realize that there's at least 2 more chapters to finish this. Sorry about that._

_I'm going to finish it and that's that._


End file.
